Bread pudding is one of my all-time favorite desserts, but when you go and put a Southern spin on it? Now you’re talking next level deliciousness.
This New Orleans bread pudding recipe will knock your socks off.
It’s got the classic cubes of stale bread soaked in an eggy custard, but this one’s got a generous kick of brown sugar and raisins and – the game changing element – a buttered rum sauce that’s simply divine.
What is Bread Pudding?
Bread pudding has been around for a really long time. I’m talking like, 12th century old.
It started as a way for people to use up any leftover or stale bread that they had laying around. Baking broken pieces of bread with a custardy mixture of eggs, cream and sugar resulted in a rustic but heavenly dessert.
In England, bread pudding was known as “poor man’s pudding” due to its inexpensive ingredients. Well, if this New Orleans bread pudding is poor, then I don’t wanna be rich!
Ingredients for New Orleans Bread Pudding
This Louisiana bread pudding with rum sauce recipe uses all the basics, plus a few special ingredients to make it pop:
- Stale French bread. Day old bread is fine, you just don’t want it to be super fresh.
- Half-and-half. There are recipes that call for a combination of whole milk and heavy cream, but for the best bread pudding, I recommend using half-and-half. You’ll get amazing results.
- Eggs
- Brown sugar
- Raisins. A controversial ingredient, but for a true New Orleans vibe, you’ve got to use them!
- Rum. We’re going to use it in both the bread pudding and in the buttered rum sauce. It doesn’t matter if you use white rum or dark rum, whichever you have on hand is okay.
- Butter
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Salt
How to Make this Louisiana Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce Recipe
Cube the Bread
Break up the bread into bite sized pieces. I don’t even bother with a knife, I just use my hands.
Put the bread and the raisins into a 9×13 baking dish. Then, make the custard.
Make the Custard
You’ll make the custard by combining eggs, half and half, brown sugar, vanilla, rum, cinnamon and salt.
Then, pour the custard over the bread cubes and raisins. The custard mixture should coat the bread cubes completely, ensuring the silky texture that bread pudding is famous for.
Let it Soak
The secret to perfect bread pudding is the bread’s ability to soak up the custard. So you’ll want to cover it and weigh it down for a bit before baking. This will allow the bread to get maximum soak time.
The longer you can let it sit, the better. Overnight is great, but if you don’t have time for that, you’ll be fine letting it sit for an hour or two.
Get Ready to Bake!
When you’re ready to bake your bread pudding, melt the butter in a microwave safe container. Then, pour the melted butter evenly over the casserole and bake.
Allow the bread pudding to cool to room temperature before you slice it into squares.
Make that Glorious Buttered Rum Sauce
Grab a small saucepan and melt the butter over low heat on the stove top. Then, stir the sugar and cornstarch into the melted butter. This makes sort of a roux.
Now, pour in the milk and raise the heat until it boils. Lower the heat back down and let it simmer and thicken. It should only take a few minutes.
The last thing we’ll do is stir in the rum.
The rum sauce will continue to thicken as it cools, so any time you want to thin it out, just reheat it in the microwave for a few seconds.
How to tell when Bread Pudding is Done
To check for doneness, look for puffed edges that may slightly pull away from the sides of the baking dish. Also, check that the center of the bread pudding is set but still a little bit jiggly.
My oven takes a full hour to bake this dessert to perfection. I recommend you check at 55 minutes and add another 5-10 minutes based on your oven.
Again, you’re looking for puffed edges and a mostly firm but slightly jiggly center.
How to serve New Orleans Bread Pudding with Buttered Rum Sauce
Here are a few options for the perfect Southern bread pudding experience:
1. Smothered in rum sauce: Pour the buttered rum sauce over the entire bread pudding casserole and let it soak in. This will infuse every bite with that luscious buttered rum flavor.
2. Serve by individual slice: Slice the bread pudding into squares and drizzle each piece with rum sauce just before serving.
3. A la mode: Nothing is more delicious with bread pudding than a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Top a piece of bread pudding with ice cream and a drizzle of rum sauce. Heavenly!
4. Crushed nuts: Sprinkle chopped pecans over top for an amazing textural complement.
How to Store New Orleans Bread Pudding
If you plan to enjoy your leftover New Orleans bread pudding within a few days, simply cover the baking dish with plastic wrap and store it in the refrigerator.
For longer storage, wrap each piece individually in plastic wrap. Then, place the individually wrapped pieces in a larger airtight container or freezer bag.
To reheat, thaw the bread pudding at room temperature and warm in the oven or microwave.
When you make this New Orleans bread pudding with rum sauce recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy!
For more dessert recipes, try these:
- Quick & Easy Banana Pudding Recipe (No Bake Dessert)
- Creamy Butter Cake Recipe (California Pizza Kitchen)
- The Best Florida Key Lime Pie (Key West Recipe)
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New Orleans Bread Pudding with Buttered Rum Sauce
Ingredients
- 12 cups cubed day old French bread about 1 loaf
- 5 cups half-and-half
- 6 large eggs
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. rum
Buttered Rum Sauce
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp. rum
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Instructions
- Coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange the bread cubes and raisins evenly in the prepared baking dish.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs half-and-half together. Add rum, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and whisk to combine.
- Pour the custard mixture evenly over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and weigh down with another baking dish. Refrigerate at least one hour, up to overnight.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Uncover the bread pudding. Melt the butter and pour evenly over the casserole. Bake 60-65 minutes, until center is set. Let sit for 30 minutes before serving.
- While the bread pudding is cooling, make the buttered rum sauce: Combine sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl. Melt butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Stir in the cornstarch mixture. Pour in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring. Reduce heat to low and stir until thickened. Off heat, stir in the rum. Pour warm sauce over bread pudding.
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